AWANDERf RS SONCS" 



PS 3521 
.E26 M3 
1902 
Copy 1 



or THE SEA 




-^^p^ 



CHARLIS KiiilE 




Class 



JSU'y. 



d,l 



Book _^ EI2 fo ki? 
Coi)yriglitN"_i5iIL„__ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



of tt)t ^ta 



91 Wantitxtx'Q ^ongs 
of t|)e ^ea 



By 



Charles Keeler 




fean JFtami0co: 

1902 



Copyrighted, I902 
By Charles Keeler 






Printed by The Stanley-Taylor Company 
san Francisco 



r 



llo mmtam meitg 

Painter and poet and friend, 

Lover of live-oaks and hills, 
Little my songs can lend 

To a life that with beauty thrills. 
Through you have I seen the grove 

In the golden twilight of dreams, 
The peak where the storm-cloud strove 

With the sun's triumphant beams; 
And I would it were given to me 

To return e'en a tithe of the boon 
In my songs of the masterful sea, 

In my strains of its mystical rune. 
I would take you afar o'er the deep 

To the haunts of the rude sea kings. 
To realms where the storm-mists sweep, 

To the zones where the petrel wings ! 
But I know in your musings alone 

In the frigate of art you are free 
To sail where a splendor has shown 

That ne'er was on land or on sea ! 



An Invocation i 

An Ocean Lullaby 14 

A Song of Bering Sea 15 

Pull the Line Home 16 

Storm Along 18 

Rough Weather Chanty 19 

Cleaning Ship 20 

Jack on Shore 21 

Homeward Ho 23 

Down in the Doldrums 25 

Black Sailors' Chanty 28 

Haul Away Joe 30 

South Australia 32 

My Jennie of Katoomba 34 

The Son of a Jackaroo . . . . . .35 

Song of the Sundowner 37 

Ballad of Minnie Ramsay 39 

The Voyage of Kupe 46 

A Song for Little Mata 56 

Leaving Honolulu 57 



^ manr^mt'0 feong^ ot tje &ea 



A WORD ON THE SONGS. 

The charm of the sea is ever new. Its songs 
are ever in the making. It is a fresh surprise for 
each one who ventures upon its illimitable way. 

In the bits of lyric contained in this slender 
volume I have sought to catch fleeting glimpses of 
ocean life and of sailor men in many parts of the 
Pacific, from the Russian voyager in Bering Sea 
to the Tahitian fisherman braving the perils of the 
deep in his open canoe, and his still more daring 
kinsmen who, some six hundred years ago, voy- 
aged over thousands of miles of unknown water 
and discovered New Zealand. 

Only on deep-water sailing vessels do the 
sailors still sing chanties. When a ship has been 
laboring through a storm under shortened canvas 
and the wind abates, the skipper, anxious to make 
a quick voyage, gives the command to set more 
sail. Men are ordered aloft to free the lashings 
and the heavy spar must then be hoisted to its 
place. The full watch take hold of the halyard, 
a rope on which the spar is suspended, and which 



Si dZaotD on tSe &0nff0 



passes through a pulley on the deck. Then the 
leader of the crew commences a chanty. All 
hands join in the refrain, pulling in unison at 
every accented syllable of the chorus. With the 
wind humming and whistling through the rigging, 
the ship tossing in the great ocean rollers, and the 
muffled thud of crashing waves upon its sides, the 
setting is a wildly picturesque one for the stirring 
rhythm of such well-known chanties as "Blow the 
Man Down," "Ranzo," or "Whiskey For My 
Johnnie," sung with lusty voices by the crew 
bending in their sou'westers over the wet rope. 
In a few chanties of this collection, notably 
"South Australia," "Storm Along," and "Haul 
Away, Joe," I have preserved the refrain of the 
sailors, and in all of them I have aimed to give 
something of the spirit of the men who go down 
to the sea in ships. 

The few dialect verses of Australia attempt to 
portray some types of colonial life which one 
often encounters at sea as well as ashore. In all 
the collection I have depicted only such incidents 
or men as I have encountered in sea roving on the 
Pacific. C. K. 



of ti^e ^ea 



Si man\itttf0 &om0 ot tSt &ea 



AN INVOCATION TO THE SEA. 

The sea! The sea! 
Who loveth not its blue sublimity? 
Its lips implore, with endless moan, 
The wanderer to strands unknown ! 
Aye, 'tis the cry of Fate, forever calling 

To men and dynasties and nations proud. 
The voice of destiny, imperious falling 

Amidst earth's blindly herded crowd. 
To challenge men, to charge them steer 

Upon the westering sun's gold path of fire, 
To bid them stifle joy and fear 

And all save wandering's wild desire! 
Lo, how it rolls around the sphere. 

Thumping at all the granite gateways strong. 
Waking the sleeping cities, shouting high 

The watchword Progress! to the chosen 
throng : 
The race shall on though men go forth and die ! 

I] 



a (iaianDetet'0 &ongief of tie &ea 

Intonating deep and hollow 

Cries the sea- voice : "Spirits, follow ! 

Follow through the flying foam, 

Follow through the roaring gale, 
Waste of tide shall be your home, 

Warring blasts shall swell your sail !" 

Down the Nile the stirring summons swept from 

off the inland sea 
To the sphinx upon the desert brooding over 

Ptolemy. 
Greece was roused as, wave on wave, 
Th' ^gean hurled its challenge brave. 
Round the margent, fearful crept 
Galleys ere the deep they swept. 
Triremes hungering for fight 
Bore her sons in armor bright. 
Coursing through the mid-most sea 
To plant their seed on Sicily. 
Stout Ulysses, god impelled, 
Sea enchantments weird beheld, — 
Circe's isle and Cyclops' strand, 

[2 



Sin Jinbocation to tj^e &ea 



Shadows of Cimmerian land ! 
Carthage heard the voice of Fate 
PeaHng through the pillared gate 
Heracles' grim hand upreared, 
Heard the pari of waves and steered 
Where the Mediterranean roars 
Round Scylla's rock to Lybian shores. 
And out of Hiflheim's wild mist spake Hel 

To Norsemen in their gloomy northland 
fiords, 
Thundering with Thor a runic ocean spell 

That made sea thralls of mighty Viking 
lords. 
In beaked shells they tossed and strained, 

Their shields they ranged against the waves, 
And far drear coasts, storm-swept, they gained 

For Viking bouts and unwept graves. 

Full many vot'ries did the blue deep gain, 
Thrilling, with elate, exultant strain. 
Hearts of Holland, Britain, Spain ! 
But men sailed the coast anear 



3] 



Si mannmf0 feongg ot tte & ga 

Till the Seer dared to steer 

Far across the Vast Unknown. 

Aye, when Columbus plowed those waters lone 

With unfamiliar keels, when hungry eyes 

Beheld the vision under alien skies, 

When in his course the New World dimly reared 

Proud battlements of green, when there appeared 

Strange welcoming people past the waste of sea, 

Ah then the tide gave up its mystery, 

Then Europe tasted the forbidden fruit; 

Henceforth should nations vie in its pursuit, 

Seeking through storms amain on trackless seas 

The golden harvest of th' Hesperides, 

Seeking eternal youth's restoring well, 

And El Dorado ! Many a caravel 

Set forth on such romantic enterprise. 

Once the Great Captain had unsealed men's eyes ! 

Heir of Castile and Aragon, proud Spain! 

Thy venturous galleons, peerless, swept the main, 

Thy high prows broke mysterious storm-churned 

seas 
That crashed on shores at the antipodes, 

[4 



Sin Unbocation to tSe &ea 



And argosies took wing to fetch thee gold 
When high emprise had made thy seamen bold. 
Fair Venice, doge-swayed Adriatic mart, 
Erst queen of seas and citadel of art. 
Had lost the salt tide's empery, and passed 
To thee, bold Spain, the art to court the blast ! 
And thou didst let it waft thee at its will 
O'er waves that jousted with thee, matched in 

skill. 
Magellan steered his caravels afar 

O'er chartless waters, south until the keen 
Antarctic tempests raved and every star 

Was veiled in storm-mist. In such wild de- 
mesne 
He watched grim winter swathe a dreary shore 

Where roamed the giant Patagonian. 
At burst of spring his eager vessels bore 

Adown the rock-ribbed coast of fear, where 
man 
Ne'er sailed before, past beetling walls of stone. 
Through straits where beacons glimmed on 
strands unknown, 

5] 



Si mantitttt*^ &om0 ot tit &ea 

On midst the yawning pass until they rolled 
O'er vast Pacific swells, and every bold 
Storm-seasoned seaman gave the Virgin praise! 
They sailed that leagueless sea uncounted days, 
Leaving the albatross far-ranging, lone; 
They starved, a ghastly crew, with curse and 

moan! 
Till, chancing on the isles that flank Cathay, 
Ycleped for Philip that auspicious day, 
Magellan, in untoward conflict, fell. 
Sadly to Spain coursed on his fleet to tell 
His triumph and his doom ! his flag unfurled. 
The first to float victorious round the world! 

The Britains heard the deep's wild anthem, blown 
From bleak horizons ; heard the Triton tone 
Of breathed conchs from o'er the ocean vast, 
And followed mermaid visions shimmering past. 
Cresting the tossing brine, unplowed before, 
Toward haunts remote on far Columbian shore. 
Raleigh and Frobisher pushed back the veil 
Of New World mystery, while one bold sail 

[6 



an JInbocation to tjie &ea 



Winged on Magellan's course and in the wake 
Of lone Pacific galleons. Francis Drake, 
The lustiest buccaneer that swept the main, 
Plundering the South Sea treasure-ships of 

Spain, 
Ranged o'er the western wilderness of blue 
To filch Potosi's ingots from Peru ; 
Then northward scaped by unfrequented way, 
And tarried lone in Californian bay. 
Still westward to the isles of spice he steered. 
Still on round Af ric cape toward England veered, 
Anchoring his globe-swept barque in Plymouth 

bight, 
And seeking his proud queen who dubbed him 

knight. 

In those rare days of high romance and song 
Elizabeth o'erwatched, Spain's Philip sent 

Th' Invincible Armada's galleon throng 
To battle with the impious Protestant.^ 

The Inquisition's fleet past Plymouth swung, 
A royal crescent of uncounted sail, 

7] 



While round about them Drake and Howard 

hung, 
And Frobisher's tried guns poured leaden hail. 
A week's mad strife left Philip's peerless fleet 
Scattered and crippled, seeking vain retreat. 
The British Sea Dogs held the Channel way; 
For Spain's Armada, fleeting in dismay, 
The North Sea's dreary course alone availed. 
But loud and menacing the tempest wailed, 
Hurtling the galleons to heartless doom 
Upon the cruel Orkney's strand of gloom. 
Ten thousand corpses lined that fearful coast, 
A charnel for the stricken Spanish host. 

Ah, never more upon the seas shall ride 

A new Armada, never more the tide 

Shall bear again so proud a fleet from Spain, 

With blazoned banners sailing forth in vain! 

The northern race through struggle groweth 

strong, 
And, be it right or be it wrong. 
Their seed shall people the wide sphere with life, 

[8 



Sin UnbocatiDtt to t§e &ea 



Their ships shall battle with all distant seas, 
Their fleets shall harbor in the world's wide 
leas, 
Their hearts shall grapple with all human strife. 
They shall crowd, inch by inch, upon the pole 
Where hoar floes grind amain with brutal 
might, 
Through tropic hurricanes their barques shall 
roll. 
Through storm and darkness shall they bear 
the light. 

O mighty Mother Ocean, 
Hast thou known such blind devotion 
Before, as this? Have human annals shown 
Such loyalty to thee ? Thy storms have blown 
A nation to all shores; its sons have grown 
Strong on the soil wherever they did cling. 
Cities have risen high, and there did spring 
Forests of masts in foreign ports afar; 
Shall they not all thy gates of fear unbar ? 
They have defied thy calms and storms with 
q] steam. 



Si marittttf^ ^ongiEj ot tit &ea 

Their steel leviathans through tempests lash ; 

Armored in ice midst wintry gales they gleam, 

Sweeping triumphant through the waves that 

crash ; 
For they have mastered thee, 
O mighty Mother Sea! 
Beaconed thy shores where fierce winds wildest 

blow, 
Bridled thy foaming waves and steered till, lo ! 
Ultima Thule breaks upon the view, 
For steel and steam can conquer and subdue ! 

Invincible today the Saxons ride. 
The masters of all highways on the tide 
Since Dewey thundered at Manila's gate 
And Europe heard the echoing guns of fate. 
The empire of the West its course has bent 
O'er sea and shore and mighty continent, 
And on across the ocean zone of day 
Unto the hoary gateway of Cathay. 
Hence shall the empire of the sea be here. 
Where Russia's huge bulk darkly lowers near, 

[lO 



)an Jnbocation to tfie &ta 



While Saxon impulse masters with its skill 
The vast Pacific. That insistent will 
That makes for progress, dominating, brave. 
Shall vitalize the waste, and mar — or save! 

Thou hast taught strength unto this favored race, 

O sea, and courage and endurance tried ; 
Now grant them the one priceless gift of grace. 

And free them from the deadly sin of pride ! 
Croon them a grand old love-song, mother sea, 
Teach them that love alone is empery, 
That fate at last defies the mailed hand. 
That only what the heart calls Right can stand ! 
Let them unite for peace about the sphere. 
Let them unite for justice, let them hear 
The still small voice above thy call immane 
Of passion and of power ; let them gain 
That subtler conquest of the heart of man 
Which makes for God's great undeveloped plan! 
Sing this, O sea, more clearly than of yore! 
Shout thy glad paean round each rock-bound 
shore ! 

II] 



Let England hear it, let thy mighty prayer 
Roll to America and rouse an answer there ! 
O may the vast Pacific's boundless deep 
In choir responsive round the Orient sweep, 
Bearing glad tidings to the Austral coast. 
Cheering Cathay and all her gloomy host. 

The Saxon genius, cradled by the sea. 
Has grappled now with human destiny, 
The Saxon spirit, resolute and strong, 
Shall stand united 'gainst the hosts of wrong, 
Shall fight for liberty, shall toil for peace. 
Till lo, the turmoils of the nations cease ! 
England, America, join hands today. 
Cast to the winds all discord, nor delay 
The triumph of thy union! This the cry 
The globe-engirdling sea has voiced high! 
This the last plea to man hoar ocean makes. 

The last appeal beyond the whorl of fate ! 
The thunder of its stirring challenge shakes 

The nations while they hesitate and wait. 
Await no more but act — and for the right ! 

[12 



Sin Sntiocation to t^e &ea 



Peace, justice, liberty, are aye in sight! 

Stand heart to heart, O Saxons ! Fondly stand ! 

Yours is the sea, and so shall be the land 

If ye but deal with it as right decrees, 

Harkening to every whisper of the breeze 

Of destiny that murmurs liberty ! 

If this may be, 

Ah then shall follow such a century 

As poets build of song without avail, 
Or prophets from their Sinais vainly see, 

A century that Christ would come to hail 
Out of the gloom of far Gethsemane ! 



13] 



SL (IZllantiertt'^ &om0 ot tit &ea 



AN OCEAN LULLABY. 

Our ship is a cradle on ocean's blue billow ; 
Rest, little spirit, your head on your pillow! 
Dream of the dolphin that leaps from the water. 
Dream of the flying-fish, dear little daughter ; 
Dream of the tropic-bird, lone in his flight, — 
Where is he sleeping, I wonder, tonight? 
Dark is the water with white crests of foam ; 
Sleep, little mermaid, the sea is your home ! 
Stars in the heavens are twinkling past number ; 
Waters are whispering slumber, love, slumber ; 
Waves are a-murmuring sleep, dearest, sleep! — 
And the little one slumbers in peace on the deep. 
Sing away wavelets and sigh away low, 
Winds of the tropics about us may blow ; 
Baby is sleeping and mother is singing 
And the peace of the evening about us is winging. 
Sleep, little mermaid, as onward we roam. 
The ship is your cradle, the sea is your home. 



[14 



a ^antimt*0 &om^ ot tfie &ea 



A SONG OF BERING SEA. 

The wolf-wind howls from the. tundra cold, 
Nu da, dusha Marya, pray for me ! 

The ice pack grinds round the Pribilofs bold 
As we steer our kotch for the open sea. 

A mug of kvass to my love I quaff, 

Nu da, dusha Marya, th' sky is black ! 

The big red-beaked epatkas laugh, 

And the arres cackle round Unimak! 

Here Glottoff sailed with Drusenin, 

Nu da, dusha Marya, the snow-mists whirl 
Where the Aleut rolls in his boat of skin! 

But my heart is warmed by my Ayan girl I 



15] 



Si manritttt*0 ^om^ ot tit &ea 



PULL THE LINE HOME. 

The refrain of this is adapted from the well-known chanty, " Blow 
the Man Down," 

O we'll pull the line home, bullies, pull the line 

home, 
Way, hey, pull the line home. 
From Frisco across the wide ocean we roam, 
Give us some time to pull the line home. 

It was near Yokohama we struck a typhoon ; 
The royal sheets went by the board mighty soon, 
The sails flapped to shreds as we bent to the gab. 
While the skipper called, "Lively, boys, clew the 
main-sail I" 

O we'll pull the line home, bullies, pull the line 

home, 
Give us some time to pull the line home. 

We wallowed around in the trough of the sea. 
The waves slashed about us, and dripping were 
we; [i6 



i^ull tSe JLim ^onxt 



One slammed full upon us with terrible thump, 
And the mate shouted loud, "Starboard watch to 
the pump !" 

O zve'll pull the line home, bullies, pull the line 

home, 
Give us some time to pull the line home. 

We pumped with a will, sir, not one of us quit 
Tho' sheet-chains were snapped and the fore-mast 

was split; 
When the typhoon was on us we stood it like men. 
But we'll not go to sea, bullies, will we again ! 

O zve'll pull the line home, bullies, pull and way 

hey! 
Belay there, you lubbers, belay there! Belay! 



17] 



Si mmhmf0 feionffsf ot tfie &ea 



STORM ALONG.* 

Storm Along was a good old man, 

Aye, aye, aye, Mr. Storm Along! 

His ship upon the shoals he ran. 

And the wind sang loud his funeral song, — 

Aye, aye, aye, Mr. Storm Along! 

All night the good ship pounded there ; 
The wild seas swept the rigging bare. 
The rude rocks pierced her starboard beam. 
The waters rushed thro' many a seam, — 
Aye, aye, aye, Mr. Storm Along! 

"We're lost !" the skipper cried. "Avast !" 
No boat could live in such a blast. 
The night was wild, the seas leaped high, 
And the wind rushed out of an inky sky. 
Aye, aye, aye, Mr. Storm Along! 



* "Aye, aye, aye, Mr. Storm Along" is a favorite deep-water chanty. 
The sailors improvise many of the verses, making them refer to the 
incidents of the voyage. The song as here given is original save for 
the refrain. 



[i8 



Si manrimf0 &om0 ot tje &ea 



When morning broke and the red sun rose, 
A black hulk told of the sailors' woes ; 
For the waves swept over it full and free, 
And it rolled like a coffin down into the sea,— 
Aye, aye, aye, Mr. Storm Along! 



ROUGH WEATHER CHANTY. 

With a brace and a tug and a haul away ho, 

With a shout and a song together. 
We pull on the halyards and up the sails go 

In double-reefed main-top-s'l weather. 

CHORUS. 

For it's sing and be jolly boys, let the winds blow. 
We'll not lose a stick or a patch of a sail, 

And don't you forget it, there's one trick we know, 
And that's how to sing in the teeth of a gale ! 

Salt horse and dry biscuit is very good fare. 

But a can of good rum is better. 
So plunge along, lunge along, only take care 

Those top~s'ls don't get any wetter. 

19] 



Si manr\tttf0 &om0 oe tfie &ea 



CHORUS. 

For it's sing and be jolly boys, let the winds blow, 
We'll not lose a stick or a patch of a sail, 

And don't you forget it, there's one trick we know, 
And that's how to sing in the teeth of a gale ! 



CLEANING SHIP. 

Down on your knees, boys, holy-stone the decks. 
Rub 'em down, scrub 'em down, stiffen out your 
necks, 

For we're gettin' near t' home, lads, gettin' near 

t' home. 
With a good stiff breeze and a wake o' shining 

foam. 

Up on th' masts, boys, scrape 'em white an' clean. 
Tar th' ropes an' paint th' rails an' stripe her sides 
with green, 

For we're gettin' near t' home, lads, gettin' near 

t' home. 
With a good stiff breeze an' a wake o' shining 

foam ! [20 



Si mamtut*0 &om0 ot tSe &ta 



JACK ON SHORE. 

O the sailor's home is the ocean blue, 

Heigh ho for the storm on the raging sea ! 

And the fun of the shore he'll sadly rue 

As he clambers aloft when the winds blow free 

CHORUS. 

For it's whisky and rum all day, my boys, 

It's brandy and gin all night ; 
But whoever you be, your jolly good spree 

Must end with the morning light. 

Beware, beware of the boarding-house man 
(There are sharks a-shore as well as at sea) 

He'll get all you have, and more if he can. 
And ship you to China before you are free ; 

CHORUS. 

For it's whisky and rum all day, me boys. 
It's brandy and gin all night ; 

21] 



ja dfllanlrmt'jES Song^ ot tje &ea 



But whoever you be, your jolly good spree 
Must end with the morning light. 

Did you ever get shanghaied on some dark street 
With a whack on the head from a rubber club, 

And wake in your berth stowed away so neat 
In the f o'k'sl-head of a leaking tub ? 

CHORUS. 

For it's whisky and rum all day, me boys. 

It's brandy and gin all night ; 
But whoever you be, your jolly good spree 

Must end with the morning light. 



[22 



Si amantietet*0 &ottff0 ot tjt &ea 



HOMEWARD HO. 

Pile on the sail, skipper, 

Let the breezes blow; 
Ten knots, twelve knots, — 

That's the way to go! 

O ! rattle out your reef lines, 
Loo5ren all your clews; 

Haul upon the halyards 
For we'll never, never, lose! 

The Viking is a clipper, stanch. 
So spread aloft your sail! 

Set the royals, fore and main,— 
We'll lean before the gale ! 

O ! rattle out your reef lines, 
Loosen all your clews; 

Haul upon the halyards 
For we'll never, never, lose! 



23] 



Set the stun'sl booms, boys, 
Bend the stun'sls fast ; 

Let them flap until they fill 
And belly to the blast ! 

O ! rattle out your reef lines. 
Loosen all your clews ; 

Haul upon the halyards 
For we'll never, never, lose! 

Betsy is the bonny girl 
I long again to see, — 

Lash ahead, slash ahead, 
Tumble through the sea! 

O ! rattle out your reef lines. 
Loosen all your clews ; 

Haul upon the halyards 
For we'll never, never, lose! 



[24 



Si Wantietet'0 &ong0 of tit &ea 



DOWN IN THE DOLDRUMS DOWN. 

O a crusty Yankee skipper 
Sailed a crack three-skysail clipper, 
Trim as any ship at sea; 
Rakish rigged and fast was she! 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 

He had tacked around the Horn 
Under topsa'ls split and torn ; 
Through the trades he scudded fast, 
But he came to grief at last, 

Down, down in the doldrums dozvn! 

It was hot beneath the sun, 

Melted pitch began to run. 

And the decks they scorched your feet 

In the sun's infernal heat, 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 

There were clouds of burnished brass 
O'er the heaving sea of glass, 

25] 



SL Wanr^tttf^ ^om0 ot t^e &ea 



While with groaning and with creaking 
Lurched the cHpper, strained and leaking, 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 

Off the port bow hung a squall — 
"Down your jib and stays'ls haul! 
Skys'l halyards now ! Stand by ! 
Lower your fore and mizzen sky!" 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 

Off to wind'ard hangs the cloud. 
Claps of thunder rattle loud; 
Nearer sweeps the black commotion, 
Churning frothy-white the ocean ! 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 

Whew, but what a smashing gale! 
"Call all hands to shorten sail ! 
Brace the yards ! We've got to tack ! 
Quick or we'll be caught aback !" 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 

[26 



2Dotott, SDotott m t^e 2DolDrum0 2DDton 

O the lightning has no pity, 
And the wind it pipes a ditty 
As it rips her sails to tatters, 
While the rain upon her clatters, 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 

How she lurched and canted over! 
Decks awash, the wild wind drove her. 
Crack! her mizzen topmast crashed, 
While the waves about her lashed, 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 

Loud that crusty skipper cursed 
When the squall had done its worst ! 
Roundly at his crew he swore, 
Stranded on a coral shore! 

Down, down in the doldrums down! 



27] 



Si manntttf0 feonff^ ot tfie &ea 



BLACK SAILORS' CHANTY. 

Yo ho, ma hahties, da's a hurricane a-brewin', 
Fo' de cook he hasn't nuffin fo' de sailah-men 

a-stewin', — 
He am skulkin' in his bunk, am dat niggah of a 

cook, 
An' his chaowdah 'm in de ocean while de pot am 

on de hook. 

Yo can chaw a chunk o' hahd-tack mos' as tendah 

as a brick, 
But d'aint no smokin' possum when de cook am 

lyin' sick. 

Ah remembah in de cane-fiel' we hed pone-cakes 
eb'ry day; 

Slack yo line a bit ma hahties ! — pull away ! pull 
away! 

An' Ah 'low Ah'm feelin' homesick, jes' t' men- 
tion ob ma honey, — 

[28 



Blacft feailoriei* CSantp 



She's a libbin' at de cabin an' she's out o' clo'es 

an money. 
While we chaw a chunk o' hahd-tack mos' as 

tendah as a brick, 
But d'aint no smokin' possum while de cook am 

lyin' sick. 

O ma po' neglected Liza an* her piccaninny Jo, 
Ah's ben roamin' sence Ah left her case Ah 

wanted fo' to go! 
Ah's ben hustlin' roun' de islands, navigatin' all 

de sea, 
While ma honey specs a hungry shark done stuff 

hisself wid me. 

While we chaw a chunk o' hahd-tack mos' as 

tendah as a brick, 
But d'aint no smokin' possum while de cook am 

lyin' sick. 



29] 



Si mmtitttt*0 &0nQ:0 ot tje &ea 



HAUL AWAY JOE. 

O Oi WU2 a loafin' lubber but bedad I learned to 

wurrk 
Whin Oi loighted out o* County Corrk along wid 

Paddy Burrke. 
We stowed abarrd a coaster an* her skipper wuz 

a brick ; 
Begorrah if yez didn't moind, he*d boost yez wid 

a kick I 

Away, haal away, haal away Joel 

Th' pigs wuz lane in County Corrk, th' men all 

starrved on taties, 
But Oi shipped upon a Yankee barrk, and better, 

faith, me fate is! 
Och Oi hed an Irish darlint, but she ghrew so fat 

an* lazy 
Thet Oi bounced her fur a Yankee gurrl, an' 

surre but she's a daisy! 

Azvay, haal away, haal away Joel 

[30 



l^aul Si'mav 31oe 



O since Oi lift auld Ireland OiVe poaked thro' 

miny plaices, 
OiVe wurrked me way, Oi've arrned me pay at 

haalin' shates an' braces; 
On farrin' shorres Oi've sot me oye on gurrls iv 

iv'ry nasliin, 
Me Yankee g^rrl hes ne'er a mate throughoat th' 

woid creashin. 

Azuay, had away, haal away Joe! 



31] 



Si mmr^ttet*0 &om0 ot tit &ea 



SOUTH AUSTRALIA. 

Our bark for South Australia sails 

And on we ride through trades and gales ; 

Heave away, haul away! 

In South Australia I was reared, 
And in its bush I grew my beard ; 
Heave away, haul away! 

I love its horses and its men, 
I love its wattles in the glen ; 
Heave away, haul away! 

I've roamed through gum-trees' endless shade, 
I've herded sheep from glade to glade ; 
Heave away, haul away! 

I've mined for gold, I've played for gain. 
And cruised along the Spanish Main ; 
Heave away, haul away! 

[32 



&)DUt& SiMttalia 



South Australia 's wild and free ! 

1 had a girl, but she jilted me; 
Heave away, haul away! 

She stole my watch and ran away, 
I'll meet my Kate again some day! 
Heave away, haul away! 

For we're bound for South Australia's shore 
And Kate will greet me as of yore, 
Heave away, haul away! 



33] 



<a man\}tttf0 feouff^ ot tSe &ea 



MY JENNIE OF KATOOMBA. 

O my rosy laughing Jennie, will you hie away 

with me? 
IVe a station in the gum-bush where the grass 

will touch your knee ; 
I've a thousand sheep a-bleeting, Fve a cosy hut 

for you; 
It is lonely in the gum-bush and there's room 

enough for two! 

O the lyre-birds are singing 'neath the wattles' 

golden boughs, 
And the distant doves are cooing in the glen 

their plaintive vows ; 
How the gaudy parrots chatter, while the magpies 

sound their tune, 
O I'm lonely here my Jennie, but you'll make me 

happy soon! 

And your voice, my merry Jennie, like the Leura's 
silver fall 

[34 



Si man^tuf0 &om0 of tfie feea 

I shall hear about the paddocks answering when- 
e'er I call. 

When the waratah's in blossom I am coming after 
you. 

For I'm lonely in the gum-bush and there's room 
enough for two! 

THE SON OF A JACKAROO. 

'E's a lazy sort o' feller an 'e loafs araound all 

day, 
'Sif th' diggins wuz intended as a kind o' place 

ter play. 
That's a sort o' way that you an' me ud never care 

ter do, 
But'e's nothin' but an ordinary son-of-a- jackaroo. 

When th' fellers is a diggin' jest like wombats 

left an' right, 
An' washin' aout th' gravel beds with all their 

bloomin' might, 

35] 



Jest ter fancy 'im a loungin' there an' squintin' 

at 'is shoe, 
For'e's nothin' but an ordinary son-of-a- jackaroo. 

'E can 'andle cards an' counters, but 'e's nothin' 

with a pick. 
Why, ter see 'im peckin raound a bit ud make a 

feller sick, 
Till a larrikin came up from taown an' beat 'im 

black an' blue. 
That same good-fer-nothin' ordinary son-of-a- 

jackaroo. 

I say but it wuz jolly good ter see th' begger run, 

'E struck off like an emu when th' larrikin wuz 
done. 

An' 'e 'ollard bloody murder like a screamin' 
cockatoo. 

Did that good-fer-nothin' ordinary son-of-a- jack- 
aroo! 



[36 



Si mantimt'0 &om0 of tfie &ea 



SONG OF THE SUN-DOWNER. 

O there's dust on the road and there's dust on me 

back 
And the glare o' the sun makes me reel in me 

track, 
But I work when I may and I beg when I must, 
To keep me poor body from turning to dust, — 
Singing tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum 

di, 

a happy-go-lucky gay fellow am I! 

1 carry me swag through the bush all the day, 
And me billy to boil me some tea by the way ; 
When it comes to a pinch I can handle the sheers, 
Can strip off a fleece or go riding for steers, 
Singing tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum 

di, 
What a happy-go-lucky gay fellow am I! 

One day a new chum came a-limping along 
Like a wallaby, just as I started me song. 

37] 



He was lost in the bush, so I told him, "No fear. 
You just follow me and we'll get out o' here." 
Singing tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum 

di. 
What a happy-go-lucky gay fellow am I! 

It was night when I got into town with the bloke, 
And then I discovered the Johnnie was broke. 
"But," says I, "never mind, I can set up the beer," 
And says he, "I can drink it then, never you 

fear." 
Singing tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum 

di. 
What a happy-go-lucky gay fellow am I! 

O what is the good of this chasing the sun, 
Of tramping all summer and winter for fun? 
But work is so wearing a fellow must try 
The luck of the road like a jolly magpie, — 
Singing tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum, tweedle-dum 

di, 
A happy-go-lucky gay fellow am I! 

[38 



Si mantintf0 ^om^ ot tit &ea 



BALLAD OF MINNIE RAMSAY. 

She's a lidy, is that Minnie; yer ort ter see 'er 

ride! 
A gipping 'orse is naught t'er, she makes th' filly 

stride. 
She's th' belle o' all th' salt-bush an' there's not a 

kangaroo 
In all th' scrub o' Queensland could outrun 'er 

fair an' true. 

She's an owful tender-'arted girl, — you fancy 

what I mean, 
She's olways helpin' some poor bloke as if she 

wuz the queen. 
She's only ighteen years o' hage, but yet, my life^ 

I know 
There's mighty few that's older, as got 'er grit ter 

show! 

There's not a girl in Sydney taown, as owns a 
'eart thet's bigger! 

39] 



Why fancy, she's th' kind, you know, thet even 

'elps a nigger! 
Naow let me tell yer what she done. My word, 

yer ort ter 'ear ! 
You'd say thet Minnie Ramsay is a lidy then — no 

fear! 

Th' blacks wuz stealing 'orses an' cattle from th' 

run, — 
Yer know we squatters 'ave our rights thet we 

'ave 'ardly won. 
So off we sent a rider ter fetch th' black police 
Ter fight th' niggers black fer black an' give us 

squatters peace. 

Them niggers know th' bush-land, they know th' 
way ter track. 

No fear, they follow game as well as any four- 
foot pack ! 

Their sargeant wuz a white man; he wouldn't 
let 'em loose 

Till 'e wired daown ter Brisban' jest ter get a 
good excuse. 

[40 



IBanati ot 9^innit Wiam^av 



They answered with a telegram? no fear, they 

know th' game! 
They jest sent back a cartridge box, so's not ter 

be ter blame. 
Th' sargeant knew th' answer boss ; like dingoes 

on th' scent 
Th' bloomin pack o' niggers thro' th' gum-bush 

tangles went. 

They camped along th' trail boss, they kept 

a-sneakin' nigher, 
Till by an' by they peered ahead an' saw th' glint 

o' fire. 
They glided thro' th' gum-bush, up close where 

they could see ; 
Th' tribe o' them wuz dancin' there a wild 

corroboree. 

Their bodies were all streaked with white ter 

celebrate their revels, — 
You fancy haow they looked aout there, like 

skeletons or devils! 



41] 



They hopped an' jumped an' frisked araound, 

they screamed Hke cockatoos ; 
My word, 'twas like a pack o' fiends a-goin' on a 

booze ! 

Naow Minnie wuz a-ridin' aout, an' didn't see 

'em go — 
Those black police o' dingoes, as they sneaked off 

still an' slow; 
But she cantered ter th' station 'ouse, an' then, my 

life, 'ow wild 
She grew ter 'ear thet they wuz off — ^that tender- 

'arted child ! 

She vowed she'd stop their bloody game; she'd 

never let 'em shoot ! 
She swore she'd ride 'em daown 'erself an tell th' 

blacks ter scoot. 
'Ow's thet fer pluck? She rode away an' every 

man wuz scared ; 
They wanted ter ride after 'er, but not a Johnnie 

dared. 

[42 



IBallati ot 9^innit Wiammv 



Well boss, she rode an' rode all day, an' never 

stopped ter rest. 
She scared th' bower-birds at play beside their 

'idden nest; 
She brushed beneath th' wattle-trees, she crashed 

thro' shreds o' bark, 
Th' raven croaked above 'er, as the brush grew 

still an' dark. 

Then out o' all thet blackness, she 'eared th' rifles 

crack. 
My life, but she wuz paralyzed ! They're on th' 

niggers' track ! 
She 'eard th' far-off yells o' fear, she 'eard th' 

cries o' pain. 
An' then th' panka-panka-panka of rifles cracked 

again. 

She floundered thro' th' darkness, she lashed 'er 

'orse ahead, 
She came upon th' niggers' camp, but every soul 

wuz dead. 



43] 



Si mat(t\tttf0 &om0 ot tfie &ea 



The black police 'ad killed 'em all, an' right an' 

left they lay 
A-welterin' in pools o' gore, all smeared with 

blood an' clay. 

It served th' devils right, no daoubt, fer stealin' 

cattle so, 
But it did seem pretty tough ter kill the gins an 

kids, yer know, 
Exterminatin' all th' tribe, like rabbits, rats cr 

mice, — 
It's a way ter deal with niggers but it haint 

exactly nice. 

Well, Minnie looked araound th' camp until she 

'eard a cry, 
A tiny squealin' baby cheepin' kind o' low an' shy. 
There she faound a gin a lyin' with th' kiddie at 

'er breast, 
An' a bullet thro' 'er body, boss, but yer can guess 

th' rest. 



[44 



IBallati ot 9^innit Eam^ap 



'E's a 'ealthy little youngster naow, th' last o' all 

'is clan, ^ 

An Minnie vows she'll stick ter 'im until 'e's 

grown a man ; 
I wouldn't like a nigger raound ter call me dad 

an' squall, 
But if Minnie 'd give me 'alf a show, I'd take 'er, 

kid an' all! 



45] 



Si manr}tttt*0 ^om^ ot t^t &ea 



THE VOYAGE OF KUPE. 

Chronicling the discovery of New Zealand by 
the Maoris some six hundred years ago. 

/ shall sing the story of Kupe, who fair Hawaiki 

forsook. 
Who voyaged round the island that Maui had 

Ashed from the depths with his hook; 
Who parted the lands by his power; Kapiti from 

Mana he clave; — 
O these are the isles that remind me of Kupe, my 

ancestor brave! 

[Adapted from an old Maori song.] 

Lusty and lithe was Kupe, Kupe, 
The seaman of old Hawaiki ! 
Massive-browed, with a grizzled beard. 
Featured was he as a giant. 
And men all cringed from the look of wrath 
That flashed from his glittering eyeballs, 
And shrank from the speech his thick lips hurled 

[46 



%it IPopage ot Hupe 



In the teeth of the one he hated. 
Mighty and pitiless Kupe, Kupe, 
With features patterned with moki ! 
Honored and feared by the men of Hawaiki, 
A wanderer famed through the islands ! 

Lord of a thousand leagues was he 

Of unknown waters of peril. 

Fierce in fighting, and jealous to madness 

In loving, was turbulent Kupe. 

Envious-eyed he looked on his friend, 

His cousin, young Hotu-rapa, 

Coveting him his new-made bride. 

His Kura-marotini. 

She was a wild-eyed witch of a woman, 

Full of a pard-like grace. 

Full of a longing for untried ways 

In the cruel waste of the world ; 

Consort fitting for Kupe the rover 

To bear unto uttermost isles. 

Fitting to mate with the wanderer wild 

Upon perilous far-off shores. 

47] 



2i manhtttf0 ^om0 ot tit &ea 

"Come, my cousin !" cried Kupe one morning, 

"Fish with me, Hotu-rapa ; 

Out on the wave-tossed blue of the sea 

Our stout canoe let us paddle ! 

Come, for the tide ebbs out through the pass 

And birds fly low on the water; 

Fish in plenty our hooks will fetch 

From the hidden hollows of coral." 

So Kupe, the crafty, and Hotu-rapa 

Pushed their canoe from the shore, 

And paddled far from the breaking surf 

On the barrier reef that thundered. 

Paddled away on the sapphire sea 

To a hidden shoal where they anchored. 

Down in the shimmering deeps they dropped 

Their glistening hooks of pearl-shell. 

And high-browed dolphin with purple fins 

They pulled from the caverns of ocean. 

Suddenly Kupe's line held fast 

In the bright-hued branches of coral. 

And, "dive for me, Hotu-rapa," he said, 

"To loosen my line from the bottom ; 

[48 



%it mnQt ot i^upe 



Never a hook had I before 

That brought such luck in the fishing!" 

So Hotu-rapa, who thought no wrong, 

Pkinged in the deep blue water, 

Eager to help his cousin and chief 

By saving his fish-hook precious. 

Just as a whirl of bubbles and foam 

Marked where the diver had vanished, 

Kupe severed the anchor line 

And, seizing his well-tried paddle, 

Urged his dancing canoe from the spot 

And lashed through the rolling waters ; 

Laughed when Hotu-rapa called 

Despairing afar mid the billows ; 

Laughed and shouted derisive answer, 

Bidding him dive to the bottom 

And dwell in the hungry shark's abode. 

Companions fit for a fisher, — 

Mocked him and cried that Kupe the sailor 

Would care for his wild-eyed woman. 

Laughed and left him to battle alone 

With the pitiless waves till he perished ! 

49] 



Si aoiannmt'^ ^on^fi ot tie fbta 

Straightway Kupe sped on to seek 

Wild Kura-marotini, 

The woman he chose for a wanderer bride, 

The mate of the man he had murdered. 

"And haste thee, woman," he cried to her, 

"For the winds of the south are caUing; 

We sail tonight in your great canoe, 

The well-made Mata-horua ; 

And we shall voyage to the ends of the sea 

Where vengeance of man cannot follow !" 

The woman he took for bride made haste ; 

They gathered their people together, 

The double canoe with high-carved stern 

They freighted with food and plunder. 

Then pushed to sea and the paddles plied 

In the darkness out on the billows. 

The great mat sail aloft was hung. 

In the trade-wind bellied and straining. 

And they swept to west till the morning broke, 

When the endless ring of the ocean 

Showed they had scaped from the righteous wrath 

Of the friends of the man who was murdered. 

[50 



%ie IPo^age ot Hupe 



The moon waxed great and waned to a thread 

As they measured the leagues of the sea, 

And longed for a sight of the welcome land 

To gladden their hearts again. 

''O where is the bourn we are seeking in vain?" 

Cried Kura-marotini, 

"And why grdws the sea so cold and drear, 

O Kupe, my fearless master?" 

"What!" quoth he to his wild-eyed mate, 

"And art thou awearied already? 

Far and away are the ends of the sea 

Where the wrath of your man cannot follow. 

List to me, restless woman of mine. 

And learn of the island before us ! 

Knowest thou not of Maui, the god, 

Cast in the tide at his birth. 

Wrapt in a swathe of his mother's hair 

And rocked by the waves on the sand ? 

Seaweed tangles about him grew, 

And jelly-fish clung to his side; 

Birds and flies gan feed on the child. 

When the old god, Tama-te-Rangi, 



51] 



Si dfllantietet'jai feongiaf of tit feea 

Snatching the form from the froth and foam, 

Uncovered the storm-tossed Maui 

And hung him up in his house to warm — 

A god he had saved from the sea-mist ! 

Knowest thou not, O woman of mine. 

How Maui, the wily, was fostered. 

Reared with his envious brethren four. 

And how, when he took them a-fishing. 

He drew from the depths of the ocean an isle 

That heaved with a roar and a bubbling. 

Floundering and shaking the mountains aloft 

While Maui looked at it with laughter? 

This is the land we are seeking together. 

My beautiful wild-eyed Kura!" 

"And how shall we find these unknown shores, 

That mortal never has sighted ? 

Alas, my Kupe, we surely must die 

Afar on the endless ocean!" 

Then Kupe laughed at his wild-eyed mate 

And scorned the fears of the woman. 

"Listen again and learn," he said, 

"Of the wonderful land we are seeking. 

[52 



%it IPopage ot Hupe 



Knowest thou not of thy stout ship's name, 

Of Mata, the old-time hero, 

And how he was driven away from home 

On the back of a deep-sea monster? 

Hine, the goddess, had driven him hence 

And followed him over the water, 

Scourging him onward from isle unto isle 

Astride of his great sea creature. 

Forward he lashed through the salt sea foam 

Till he came to the island of Maui, 

Where he tarried a span as an outcast lone, 

Then turned to the land of his fathers. 

Bearing away the greenstone rare 

As a gift to the men of Hawaiki. 

Kupe the sailor can find the way 

To the land where Mata was banished ; 

Look ! we follow yon roving star 

That blazes low in the southland ; 

Higher it rises as night after night 

It leads us under its archway." 

The wind blew cold as it wailed from the south, 
And the spray washed over their prow; 
53] 



Si manntttffi &onQ:0 ot tit &ea 

Food was failing and death was near 
For all of the dauntless crew. 
Clouds fled over the leaden sea 
And over the hearts of all, 
All save Kupe who watched the waves 
And laughed at his ship-mate's fears. 

One night with a hopeless piercing shriek 

Rushed Kura-marotini 

To Kiipe's side, her eyes ablaze 

With a madness that springs from terror. 

"O Kupe, did ye not see that form 

Out over the water gliding ? 

He looked at me as he sped afar 

And I saw his face in the blackness. 

'Twas Hotu-rapa who wandered there, 

The man ye slew in the water !" 

"Ha!" cried Kupe aloud in glee, 

" 'Tis a sign that land is before us !" 

And he grasped in his arms the quivering form 

Of Kura-marotini. 

"Alas !" she sighed, "if the land is near 

Mine eyes shall feast not upon it, 

[54 



^^t IPopaffe 0t Hupe 



For Hotu-rapa has called me to Po! 

I follow him over the water." 

Then Kupe touched with his giant face 

The burning cheek of the woman, 

''And lovest me not, my wild-eyed mate ?" 

He whispered to shivering Kura. 

She glared with her wild, wild eyes at him 

Who slew her mate in the water, 

And shrank away as from one accursed, 

To wail alone in the darkness. 

At dawn of day there arose a cry, 

A shouting from parched voices. 

Of, land ! good land ! of the promised shore. 

The longed-for island of Maui ! 

And Kupe went to his silent mate 

To rouse from her trance the sleeper, 

But her flesh was pale and rigid her limbs. 

For death's hoar seal was upon her. 

They sailed all silently on to the shore, 

And into the waist-deep water 

Leaped Kupe bearing aloft in his arms 

The stark, still form of his woman. 



55] 



9i manntttffi &onff0 of tie &ea 

A SONG FOR LITTLE MATA. 

O its ho for Moorea where the coco-palms grow ! 
Sing again of Moorea where the trade winds 

blow, 
With its peaks and crags that tower 
Where the storms of thunder lower, 
With its opal-hued lagoon 
Where the wavelets sleep at noon ; 
O ^tis there that little Mata watches every weary 

hour 
For the white sail from Tahiti coming soon, soon, 

soon! 
O its ho for Moorea fairest isle of the sea! 
And Fm dreaming still of Mata who is waiting 

there for me. 
With her black hair wreathed in Here, 
Watching till her eyes are weary ; 
From her cottage of bamboo 
Gazing o'er the waste of blue. 
Little Mata, I am coming o'er the water to my 

dearie 
And upon the waves that toss me I am dreaming 

but of you ! [56 



Si (lfllandetet'0 feong^ ot tiie &ea 



LEAVING HONOLULU. 

O'er the taffrail lean the people, on the dock a 

restless throng 
Vainly, with their wistful glances, seek the 

moment to prolong. 
Flower-girls are selling leis, fragrant wreathes 

for friends who part, 
Hark ! a blast upon the whistle ! 'Tis the signal 

for the start ! 

Loud above the shouting tumult rings the band, 

"Aloha Oi!" 
There's a sadness in its trumpet tones that speaks 

of passing joy; 
"Lower away the for'a'd gangplank! Cast the 

after hawsers free !" 
Slowly glides the mighty steamer toward the reef 

where frets the sea! 

Wave your leis, flutter kerchiefs, fondly call your 
last farewells ! 

57] 



List, Hawaii's tender anthem solemn o'er the 

water swells ! 
Now adieu to dark-hued faces ! Toss a kiss and 

heave a sigh ! 
From the shore the tropic trade-wind whispers 

low a last, "good bye!" 

Through the reef we seek the ocean, backward 

glancing to the shore ; 
Dearest friends and well-loved places, shall we 

gaze on you no more ? 
See the purple, cloud-hung mountains, see the 

beetling heights of green. 
And the red earth of the lowlands near the pale 

lagoon serene ! 

Diamond Head with shapely profile past the beach 

of Waikiki, 
And Tantalus and Punchbowl, with eyes be- 

dimmed we see ; 
Fair Honolulu nestling amid its groves of palm. 
The fringe of shipping on the shore, so beautiful, 

so calm I [58 



%tatim Honolulu 



Aloha, fair Oahu, slowly paling o'er the tide, 

Your peaks may fade but in my heart your vision 
shall abide; 

Still the flame of your hibiscus, still those wistful 
tropic eyes 

Shall enthrall me to your palm-groves, shall en- 
dear your azure skies ! 



59] 



1902 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

lllfilliil 

015 939ltf:™ # 



